The letters of Paul are more than just occasional documents; they are the Word of God, and as such speak to us even in the late twentieth century. (2 Timothy 3:16) How is a Christian in 2015, who is committed to nonresistance and discipleship, to respond to Paul’s argument for submission to governing authorities in Romans 13:1-7?
Must WE THEN SUBMIT TO ALL AUTHORITIES, since according to Paul there is no authority except from God? Should Christians have submitted to Hitler’s regime in Germany in the 1930s and 1940s?
Although all governing authorities have been instituted by God, they have been tainted with human sin, and as such do not always conform to the rule of God. Clearly, Hitler’s regime, which produced massive death and destruction, was not an authority in God’s service (13:5). If a government or authority ceases to be a force for good and order, but instead becomes an instrument of evil and death, it is no longer a Christian’s duty to submit and obey that authority.Acts 4:19 reads “But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye.”Acts 5:29 reads “Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.”
Obedience to God, concern for the unity of the Church, and love for other people have been clearly laid out throughout the letter to the Roman Church in the first 12 chapters. We cannot take these 7 Scriptures and give them precedence over the previous issues that Paul has already clearly defined as Primary and Preeminent in this letter to the believers in Rome. In other words, Christians must understand that “The First things REMAIN first.” In short, love and obedience to God was and is always to take precedence over national sentiments.
The concerns that led Paul to direct the Christians in Rome to submit to imperial rulers stem from the fact that Jewish Christians, had only recently returned to the Rome after having previously been exiled by Emperor Claudius. Paul clearly is concerned that if the Roman believers were to become involved in any Palestinian-Jewish revolution at this time in mixed Jewish-Gentile communities then unity among the Roman believers would be impossible. He was clearly concentrated on the bigger picture here, understanding that if the Jews were to grumble about and share their anti-Roman ideas with the Gentiles it could lead to a complete disaster that could have ultimately put believers against believers thus destroying the Unity of the Body of Christ specifically at Rome.
If a governing authority calls its citizens to acts that run counter to obedience to God, Christian unity, and love for others, such as participating in a legal but ungodly ordinances, then the Christian may say with a clear conscience that he or she is heeding the call of God by refusing to submit and obey the government. If a law is passed that every Christian must be put to death because of their belief in Jesus, and calls for everyone that believes in Christ to turn themselves in to the authorities so that the magistrates can execute them, again we must say with a clear conscience that we are heeding the call of God by refusing to submit and obey the government.
In Daniel 6 king Darius signed a decree that (verse 7) “whosoever shall ask a petition (PRAY) to any God or man EXCEPT to King Darius then he shall be cast into the den of lions.” Daniel was a devout man of God and a servant of God that specifically set out 3 different times in each day to go and pray to God. We see this in verse 11. Did he stop praying to God because the law of the land said that he could not do so? Nope…
It is God, who has all power in Heaven and on Earth (Matthew 28:18) to whom a believer owes allegiance. “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.” Submission to the authorities is not something a Christian person does lightly. We must live as citizens of two worlds. Here on Earth to which the governing authorities are subordinate and is passing away, and in Heaven, under the rule of Christ.Isaiah 55:8-9 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
Therefore Christian, rejoice in Philippians 3:20-21 which reads “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.”

It’s obvious that church folk have long been guilty of over stating so called “facts” about the origin of our country. But you can’t let those people keep YOU from the truth.

Our founding fathers had no intention on dogmaticly creating a Christian only country. If this were the case we would have never been introduced to the first amendment that guarantees “freedom of religion.” They in fact never had a Christ only agenda. Have We turned our backs on God in the U.S.? Yep. But that has nothing to do with me and I’m certainly not going to use the ignorance of many people in our churches in regards to our so called “traditional roots” as a battering ram against The God in which I serve.

Here is indeed the true intentions that our founding fathers had in mind…

“Religious liberty is a right and must be protected; the national government should not create an established church, and states should have them only if they encourage and assist Christianity; and religion belongs in the public square. In short, while America did not have a Christian Founding in the sense of creating a theocracy, its Founding was deeply shaped by Christian moral truths. More important, it created a regime that was hospitable to Christians, but also to practitioners of other religions.” – Heritage Foundation

I don’t care what kind of can this opens up. I’m sick of sitting back and watching my God be ridiculed and questioned due to the ignorance of fake Christians who have hijacked the name of Christ by calling themselves one of God’s children.

How many times have I said that the peaceful majority is irrelevant? I’ve also said that the power of the peaceful majority IF United would be the most powerful force that humanity could ever create.

Are all citizens in Ferguson Missouri looters? Are all students at WVU drunks?Are all residents in West Virginia racist?Are all welfare recipients bums?Are all Christians fake?– The answer? Of course not but that is irrelevant!

The looters, drunks, racists, bums and fake Christians make up the minority yet they ARE THE PROBLEM with our society.And you wanna know why they are the problem?

Because the “peaceful majority” ALLOWS the minority to dominate society with their agendas because WE “the peaceful majority” don’t want to offend anyone, or challenge anyone, or even reach out because we like our pretty little lives in our pretty little bubble and to hell with everyone else! As long as no-one bothers us in our little bubble we are content with sitting on the sidelines doing nothing but running our mouths placing blame on everyone except for the true majority in our country. People like you and me… Sick of it all but not enough to do anything about it… Therefore WE “the peaceful majority,” when it comes to contributing to the reversal of the current state of society, are irrelevant…

By now I am sure that many of you have heard of “The Blood Moon Prophecy’s” that has been made popular by Mark Biltz and more prominently Pastor John Hagee.

We are currently in the middle of a four blood moons cycle in which each blood moon will appear on religiously significant dates for the Jewish people.

The first came April 15, 2014, the second day of Passover. The second came on October 8, 2014, during the Jewish Feast of the Tabernacles. The third will come on April 5, 2015, during next year’s Passover celebration, and the fourth will arrive on September 28, 2015, another Feast of the Tabernacles, also known as Sukkot. (see above)

Hagee says that the blood moons are “God’s signs to this terminal generation that something big is going to happen soon.” He connects these four blood moons with Israel. Saying that every time these four blood moons appear it is a sign of something big happening for Israel.

-Hagee asserts that The 4 Blood Moons are WARNINGS from God…

I’m not going to take the time to validate or debunk all of what is right or wrong in their theories here. Instead I am simply going to give the dates that are mentioned by Hagee and Biltz along with the significant events that they connect in “direct correlation” of The Four Blood Moons.

Hagee says that these four blood moons have happened “THREE OTHER TIMES” to mark significant events in Israel’s history.

HERE ARE THOSE THREE EVENTS:

In 1492, was the final year of the Spanish Inquisition, where The Alhambra Decree ordered all remaining Jews who would not convert to Christianity to leave Spain.

The four blood moons actually started the following year! The four blood moons occurred on:

* Passover, April 2, 1493

* Sukkoth, Sept. 25, 1493

* Passover, March 22, 1494

* Sukkoth, Sept. 15, 1494

Hagee says the next four blood moons happened in 1948, which was Israel’s War of Independence and when they received statehood.

Again, these four blood moons actually started the following year. The four blood moons occurred on:

* Passover, April 13, 1949

* Sukkoth, Oct. 7, 1949

* Passover, April 2, 1950

* Sukkoth, Sept. 26, 1950

Hagee says the next four blood moons happened in 1967, which was Israel’s Six-Day War.

These four blood moons occurred on:

* First Day of Passover, April 24, 1967

* First Day of Sukkoth, Oct. 18, 1967

* First Day of Passover. April 13, 1968

* First Day of Sukkoth, Oct. 6, 1968

In Pastor John Hagee’s teachings he dogmatically tells his large audience that The 4 Blood Moons are WARNINGS to each and every one of us to take heed because something BIG is “about to happen” with the nation of Israel.

– Call me Crazy but aren’t WARNINGS supposed to occur BEFORE something Big actually happens? Is God in the business of Warning His people AFTER something occurs?

What I am failing to understand is how so many people have swallowed this “theory” hook, line and sinker, without doing any homework on their own. I think that I am actually more appalled that Pastor Hagee has went on to write a book and even has a 4 Part DVD in which he spreads this “ground breaking news” to millions of people who he arrogantly and accurately assumes that those millions will not adhere to Acts 17:11that tells us to check out what we are being taught to make sure that it is true.

I pastor a church of less than 100 people and I would not dare bring “speculation” to the pulpit in fear of answering to God. Secondly, I am to be held accountable to the precious souls that God has given us at Victory Baptist Church that make up our congregation. Unlike Mister Hagee, I do not dare to tempt God, nor insult the intelligence of His people…

We cannot read the Book of Revelation or The Bible in general as if it were a Novel. Depending on the Book in Scripture, the texts OFTEN do not follow one another in a historic or chronological sequence, rather they move side by side. Sometimes The Holy Spirit runs to the end of time, then returns, to supply in detail the entire picture of what He has outlined for us.

John hurries with great anticipation to the Grand Finale. Rev. 1:4-7

Let’s watch Christ make promises that fill us with great anticipation AND THEN confirm/fulfill that promise upon His return.

I call this The Book-Ends of the 7 Churches.

For Example:

1. Here Christ is Speaking BEFORE The Rapture promising who He is:

Rev. 1:8 “I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last . . . the first andthe last.“

Rev. 1:17 “Fear not; I am the first and the last:”

2. Here Christ is Speaking AFTER The Rapture confirming who He is:

Rev. 22:13 “I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.”

Notice in The Letter to the 7 Churches:

There is great anticipation of the promises of Christ. (Before The Rapture) =1.

Rev. 2:7 “To him that overcometh will I give to eat of THE TREE of LIFE, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.”

Rev. 22:2 “In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there THE TREE of LIFE…”

Smyrna

Rev. 2:11 “He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the SECOND DEATH.”

Rev. 20:6 “Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the SECOND DEATH hath no power…”

Pergamos

Rev. 2:17 “To him that overcometh… I will give him a white (pure) STONE (A token given to the Saints to Join The Marriage Supper of the Lamb!), and in THE STONE a new name written,” (The Bride takes the name of the Groom!)

Rev. 19:7-9 “the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready” See ISAIAH 62:2 & ISAIAH 65:15

Thyatira

Rev. 2:26-28 “And he that overcometh…I will give him the MORNING STAR.”

This is a call for us to rededicate ourselves to the commitment of meeting together in the House of God.

No WAY God has called us to simply show up when we feel like it. No WAY is God pleased with us dining from His table on Sunday Mornings Only. We can’t possibly Grow Spiritually, if we are not Spiritually being fed!

Let’s God Give Back What is Rightfully His…. Our Service!

Everywhere I look, God’s people are meeting less and less at an alarming rate. God gives us a beautiful day, and we thank Him by forsaking the assembly of God by skipping church so that we can spend that day outside. It’s a wonder He EVER gives a beautiful day again! Church attendance is down nearly everywhere. Bible teachers are not teaching the Bible. Men that should be spending less time preaching and more time in The Word have been raised up to become Pastors. Deacons are no longer serving. Churches are no longer laying block upon the foundation of The Ruling Resurrected Christ, rather they are building massive structures upon the bones of dead lost men…

Services are being replaced by programs. Sunday Evening Services are vanishing. No one comes to the 10am Sunday School Hour. It seems that one hour of God and meeting with God’s people per week is enough. In many cases, that one hour in itself is merely a chore that some church folk cannot wait to complete so that they can get on with finishing up their weekend the way in which they want to. With all that this world has to offer, with its many demands of our time, resources and energy it seems as if the “Modern Day Christian” feels as if he/she is doing God a favor by giving Him an entire hour out of his/her precious week….

We need to become a people who value righteousness again! We are allowing this pagan world to rip our values right out from under us with little or no resistance. Is this what a SOLDIER of an Almighty Christ looks like in battle? We have a soft bunch of so-called Christians today that only stand in the Gospel when it is convenient for them to do so. Christ has never called us to be comfortable, yet we comfortably sit on the sidelines while the battle is being won by Satan the great Adversary. Shame on you, Child of God!

We have a Holy God that wants His people to meet, love one another and care for one another, yet we have other things to do…The Creator of the Universe! The Creator and Sustainer of life, YEARNS to be with us but we are unmoved!

Our Holy God! Our Heavenly Father, gave Heaven’s best, His only begotten Son, Jesus to reconcile us to Him! He wants us to give Him our attention! He wants us to come to Him through His Son, but we neglect the Son of God and pour ourselves into the ungodly things of this world that can never satisfy! Christ is Screaming, “Why do you continue to drink and eat from the things of this world that will never complete you? Come and Drink from Me, The Living River of Life! Come and Eat from the Bread of Life!” Yet we are indifferent and dull to His plea…

He has made us driveways at the homes that he has given us that hold the cars in which He has allowed us to purchase with the money that He grants us to earn from the jobs in which He provides. Even the roughest road that our God has paved can easily be traveled on by our vehicles so that we can get to The Church in which He has built for us to come together and meet with one another to fellowship and learn about Him. On the outside of the Church, there are spaces for us to park these cars….

When we go in and sit on His pews and chairs we will immediately notice that He has even gifted us with heat, air conditioning, ceiling fans, running water, class rooms, kitchens, nurseries, activity buildings/fellowship halls and even an altar for us to kneel down and shed tears of joy, triumph, burden, grief, heart-ache, victory, guilt, sorrows and so forth… Also He has filled the Church with song books, pianos, guitars, banjos, and all sorts of instruments along with microphones to project our voices that He has given us to intermingle with those instruments in heavenly harmony in praise so that we can make a joyful noise for Him to hear us in Heaven…

Our God is so great that He has left us His tried, tested, true and victorious Word so that we may read it. The Bible is God’s “Love letter” to each and every one of us. Knowing that we are simply unable to be drawn to the power unto salvation on our own, He gives us His Spirit so that we may be moved from a life that ignores what the world calls foolishness, into a life of eternity, by way of the Cross.

The Holy Spirit gives us the Power to look into this “love letter” that we call The Scriptures as if it were a clear glass window from which when we look through it, we see with our own eyes, purified by The Spirit, the Death, Burial and Resurrection of The One that is called Jesus… In that moment, when we look through that window and see the Gospel of Jesus Christ being played out in front of us, we become overwhelmed by everything that God is and from that day forward we are a new people, called out to be His and His alone…

God has chosen to take a broken world, full of broken people and provide for them all that they need…

I want to remind you that I am nothing but a broken piece of clay, trying to tell other broken pieces of clay about The Potter.

Let’s get back into the House of God! Let’s turn this stinking world upside down for Christ! Let us live out loud! May we be soul’d out for Christ! Let us put the Super Natural Fruit Bearing Power of Grace that God has given us and pour it into the Advancement of His Kingdom!

If the Church that you are attending is indifferent to this call, GO FIND ANOTHER CHURCH!

If you attend Victory Baptist Church and you are offended to this call, GO FIND ANOTHER CHURCH!

It is in Jesus’ name and with a heavy burden that I write this, but with great expectations I sign it…

Pastor Chad Lovejoy

Victory Baptist Church

The challenge that many “Christians” have is that is they never REALLY deal with the root of their issues, so it becomes common practice to find scriptures to mask “what’s REALLY going on”.

Sheltering your flaws and giving sin a home in your life all-the-while putting scripture on it to excuse your behavior is dangerous.

Many people habitually ‘stand on’ scriptures but are doing so out of their own selfish motives to justify their pursuit of something that God did not will for their lives.

Putting that piece of broccoli on top of your Little Debbie Cake does not make that cake healthy.

Falsely using Scripture to justify ungodly actions and inaction stemming from false motives is a scary thing to do.
Don’t do it my friend…

John 18:20-21 Jesus says, “I spake openly to the world; and in secret have I said nothing. Why askest thou me? ask them which heard me, what I have said unto them: behold, theyknowwhatIsaid.”

For those that do not know, or REFUSE to know the truth in which I speak, that’s okay because every word is recorded in heaven by God Almighty and on Earth by the Un-Mighty pastor Chad Lovejoy, on an MP3 format file….

14 From men which are thy hand, O Lord, from men of the world, which have their portion in this life, and whose belly thou fillest with thy hid treasure: they are full of children, and leave the rest of their substance to their babes.

15 As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.

Just a quick question for my Face Book Friends. Why do you choose, not to attend Church? (I grew up hating church & had many reasons so now that I am a pastor I am interested in hearing the reason(s) that you do not go to church) -You will not offend me, please just be authentic… — feeling curious.

Chad LovejoySocial anxiety is a discomfort or a fear when a person is in social interactions that involve a concern about being judged or evaluated by others. It is typically characterized by an intense fear of what others are thinking about them (specifically fear of embarrassment, criticism, or rejection), which results in the individual feeling insecure, not good enough for other people, and/or the assumption that peers will automatically reject them.

How sad that Church People has caused anyone to suffer from such a stumbling block as Social Anxiety. It saddens me that this is a Truth in today’s congregations all across our country and even in our valley. Wake up Church! We are to be a hospital to those that are seeking REFUGE from the “intense fear” of Satan’s world! We are driving people AWAY from Redemption and AWAY from a Life of Love, Grace, Mercy and Forgiveness with our nonsensical man made ways and preferences! The Church is not a Man-Made Organization! The Church is a Divine Institution where Everyone should be Welcomed, Loved and “Preached To”, not “Preached At!” May God chastise and correct us in our folly in this very evening! God Bless YouRandy Anthony

Anita Gillespie It’s Boring.. Same nature covered in all sermons… (I go to church) but that’s why I’ve skipped out some in the past.

Chad LovejoyIt is amazing to me how so many preachers/pastors get on their hobby horses and preach the “same ol same ol.” Guess what, our lives do not follow the “same ol same ol” pattern. Acts 20:27 “For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.” – ALL of the counsel of God means Preaching Exegetically from Genesis to Revelation.

Too many sermons and/or sermon series’ have become “Topical” to where some preacher takes a few Scriptures of the Bible and they plug them in some “magical formula” and emphatically state “SEE THE END IS COMING SOON!” or Worse, they try and preach to the congregation “topically” based upon what they FEEL their congregation needs to hear, thus falling into the “same ol same ol, beat-it-into-your-brains” pattern. No one grows spiritually from this. God wants His entire Love letter (The Bible) to be preached, and He does not want us preachers to preach what WE THINK we ought to preach. God wants us to preach His Word, His Way in His Time.Recently I heard a preacher on several occasions and each time he would begin from different texts in the Bible and no matter which text he started in, he would turn that sermon into a stance on Water Baptism… I was left thinking, you got THAT out of 1 Timothy? How?We can shout, hoot, stomp and holler all we want, but when there is a ton of HEAT coming out of the pulpit and there is no LIGHT, it is time to step back, step down, and reflect on whether or not we are truly being empty vessels of God Almighty, or are we just occupying a spot behind the pulpit? When we preach man-made sermons, it is man-made results that we can expect… God Bless YouAnita Gillespie

Chad LovejoyHaggai 1:2 “Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, This people say, The time is not come, that we fix the LORD’S house. 3 Then came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet, saying, 4 Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses, and this house (God’s house?) lie to waste? 5 Now therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways.”

For the 1st 2 years, the people had made an attempt to rebuild the Temple, but then the people began to make excuses. Gradually, they had lost their vision and had drifted into a lifestyle where God’s house was no longer the priority. They probably viewed it as nice, but not necessary; extra, but not essential.We need to see ourselves in this picture. If we know Christ, there was a time when we made a personal commitment to Him. At first, we are zealous for spiritual things. We read our Bible every day. We get involved with Christian groups. We get involved serving in a local church. But then our efforts are met with difficulties. Maybe a personality clash with another Christian, or we were disillusioned with the disappointing results, or we encountered personal trials that God didn’t remove, even after much prayer.Meanwhile, life moved on. We start our careers and a family. We have bills to pay and other demands on our time. Church and the Lord’s work drifted into the background. Oh we still attend church as often as we can, but it has become a slice of life, not the center. We tell our self that we just don’t have time to serve as we used to. Someone else who doesn’t have the responsibilities that we have will have to get involved. Without deliberately rebelling against God, we have drifted into putting our house above God’s house. When our conscience nags, we have reasons to explain why things are this way.We find our lives in this spot and say things like “someday I’ll have all the kids through college and the bills paid, and then we’ll give more to the Lord’s work.” Or, “This is a hectic time in our family life. The kids demand so much attention. Every day is taken up with meeting their needs. But someday we’ll be through this phase, and then we’ll get involved in the church.”

Often life is not about making bad or good decisions, rather it is up to us to make a GOOD decision, or the BEST decision. The Lord warns us here to put the First things First. We must as Haggai 1:5 says “Consider our ways” Also,Matthew 6:21Jesus says “For where your treasure is, there will be your heart also” God Bless You Melinda Gibson-Anderson

Brandi LopezI have a reading comprehension issue and growing up we had “homework” for Sunday school. That’s no big deal but when I would come back the next week they would ask questions and a lot of the times just choose people to answers instead of taking volunteers. I always felt very dumb not being able to answer the questions. Without someone really sitting down and explaining things to me, I had a hard time understanding how to read and comprehend what I was reading throughout verses and what not. From there I started to not like being there and gave my parents a hard time on Sunday mornings getting g ready for church. I hate that I did that to them but I don’t know if I fully understood what I’m explaining now at that point in time. That’s my story. I enjoy church now.

Chad LovejoyGod Bless You Brandi. My dad just passed away in October and he could not read or write. He loved the Lord and he had many questions about Him. It is important for us to tailor to those who need more attention in seeking The Lord. I know that you CAN read and write and this does not apply to you per say however, these types of things happen all of the time! We cannot alienate those people who simply cannot comprehend the Sunday School lesson. We need to make ourselves available so that the Word of God is Clear to everyone, no matter their age, intellect, etc. It is much more important to spend an extra 30 minutes with one of God’s created souls to further explain who He is than it is to Rush out of church in hopes of getting to the local Dairy Queen before it closes! Thank you for sharing your story and may everyone who reads this take note, that EVERYONE deserves attention when it comes to the Eternal Truths of God. Even if you do miss out on that Peanut Buster Parfait from DQ….

Mandy Skeens I have a lot of excuses. Most of them are not good enough, though.

Chad LovejoyGod Bless YouMandy Skeens. You and I have talked and I know that God will see you through this. It is up to you and Kevin to be the spiritual leaders within the realm that the Lord has you in during this time. He has entrusted you with your household and has given you the opportunity to touch so many other families through sports. If you were to “accept” and make a concentrated effort to be God’s missionary, I mean take this mission as if there were no Church buildings around, no men or women of God, no Bibles to read, Just you and Kevin, imagine the life changes to those that you come in contact with. I know this sounds foolish to the World, Foolish to your friends but do you suppose that when God calls you home, He is going to look at you and say “now Mandy, let’s talk about this foolishness you pulled during wrestling season in 2013-2014… What were you thinking trying to tell those people about me?” Of course not… He will proclaim to you, well done thou faithful servant! I Love You guys!

Susan W. Smith Chad….for me it was a church hurt. I gave of my time and talents and accepted nothing for it. I left and no one cared. NOT one call. I feel that was all because of the pastor and his ill feelings toward me. I called him on the carpet over things I did not agree with….not to be nasty but to try and understand. I was a vital and integral part of the congregation. I did anything and everything I could to make the church work efficiently and to the glory of God. I volunteered my time playing the piano, helping with the choir, sometimes directing the choir and writing programs because we were a poor church with little money. I have passed people in stores who went there and they have looked me SQUARE in the eye and not spoken to me. I did NOTHING wrong. I had and have a PURE heart. The Bible says, “search me O God and know my heart today.” God knows my heart and he knows the hurt that it has caused me and the stumbling block the situation caused in my life. I still hold tight to my faith and my relationship with God, but the hurt has wounded me. I even CALLED the pastor on the phone and told him a scratch had become a boil and we needed to get the differences taken care of……he never called. I confronted him at my aunt’s funeral and told him I missed my church family….he didn’t respond….just proceeded to glare at me and look straight through me. It has taken many years to get past this…..he has left the church and the church is floundering. I am preparing myself to go back….God is working…..He has never left me and I have never left Him. That pastor has since left the church and some followed him to his new big fancy church. I have problems with that, too. To me, that is following a man and not the Lord. Our little church need all of its people, including me. My grandfather and uncle helped to build that church. My grandmother was custodian there…..it is MY church and I WILL RETURN…..God help my attitude and please pray for me that I will be a light there when I get there. Thank you, Chad….your prayers for me and my family would be appreciated. So….an answer to your question would be this: We easily take our eyes off of God. We must NEVER follow a man….NOT ever a pastor….but the Lord. The minute we take our eyes off from Him….we will FAIL. Thank God He still abides in my heart! XOXO

Chad LovejoyThis is what I consider a colossal Failure on behalf of the overseer in that particular Church. I am of the belief that the congregation is a reflection of the Pastor in which God has called to minister to them. It seems to me that this logic applies specifically to your case. Where is the transparency of God’s people these days? Why are we so guarded? Does any MAN or WOMAN know Everything? Do any of us obey God so righteously that we are Never Wrong? Are we ABOVE being confronted with a concern from one of our brothers or sisters? If we can’t take confrontation with one of our brothers and sisters, how in God’s name can we handle confrontation from lost sinners? How shameful!

Paul holds the Berean’s in Acts 17 in high esteem because of their inquisitive minds and hearts. It should be encouraged among each other to check the preaching, check the teaching, check the services to see if these things are lining up with The Word of God! How can WE, TOGETHER, Rightfully divide The Word of God if there is only one opinion, one authority, a usurper if you will. This is nothing more than cult-like and it is sad.

Read Ephesians 4:11-16 and tell me where there is room for this type of behavior from God’s Children! We are born together in The Almighty Blood of Christ! There is nothing that can separate us from Him or each other. We may disagree but in the Likeness of Christ we can do so without being cold or combative.Glory to Him that you have steadfastly remained planted in truth during this bleak period of time in your church life. It is no wonder people have given up on Church. Praise God you never gave up on God! A word of caution for the pastor, “If those people will follow you, they will follow the next guy that comes along just as easily.” I love you and God Bless YouSusan W. Smith – ps. If they don’t want ya, We will take ya!

Faith MorrisIt saddens me to say, I have a lot of excuses, but none are ever close to being good enough. But I can tell you for years I didn’t go for the fact of all the judgmental people in the churches. The ones that went and talked about me for having a daughter out of wedlock, or living with someone. Yes I know yhat was wrong. But why people feel the need to judge others so harshly instead of helping lead them to the lord I don’t get! So many church are this way!! But I can say I have never been made to feel this way at Victory Baptist!

Chad LovejoyGod Bless YouFaith Morris, we are not to be Fruit Inspectors. We are to be Fruit Producers through the Power of the Holy Spirit! If you do ever encounter such judgement in Victory Baptist Church I beg you to bring it to my attention and we will bring it to light in the company of witnesses and the Face of God. Matthew 18:15-17

Melissa Hanlin HughesI don’t have reasons Chad just a bunch of excuses….. Ever since my dad passed away I have changed or my life has changed I should say and the desire I had at one time left when my dad left…

Chad LovejoyGod Bless YouMelissa Hanlin Hughes, I know that the loss of your daddy took much out of you and at the time I understood, but I could not relate. Now that I have lost my dad, I can relate. That being said, It is clear that life is filled with Peaks and Valleys and this certainly does NOT change when we become Christian’s. If we look in Genesis 32:24-32 we see that ol’ rascal of a man named JACOB (later named Israel) finally gets saved. He had been blessed immensely up to this point in his life. No matter what he touched, God Blessed him! You would think that since God had blessed him before, the blessings would just get better, but that was not the case. In fact, in Chapter 34 Jacob’s only daughter gets raped, then 2 of his sons (Simeon & Levi) conjure up a plan to slaughter the whole village that the rapist lived in. The following Chapter, 35 we see Jacob obeying God, and a woman (named Deborah) who he loved as if she were his own mother dies. Then the love of his life, (wife Rachel) dies while giving birth to their son Benjamin. In the same Chapter his oldest son (Reuben) sleeps with his handmaid (Bilhah – who birthed two of Reuben’s brothers! Dan & Naphali.) Then After that, his Daddy Isaac passes away.

It is essential that we keep our eyes on The Lord who Created us, Saved us and Sustains us, Even in the valleys.2 Kings 3:16tells us not to sit Idle in those Valleys. Don’t just give up!It says to “Make this Valley Full of ditches!”Why? Because a flood of God’s blessings are coming! If you don’t dig that ditch in that valley, He cannot fill it with blessings! So I encourage you while you are in this valley to heed to God’s Word and Dig the deepest ditches that you can dig because when His flood of blessings come, you want to be able to hold them all! He is a great big God and He can fill any ditch to the very top!

There are many people who love God but refuse to go to church. It is part of my ministry to connect to the “de-churched” of this generation and give real, honest answers to those that do want to worship God regardless of how certain churches operate and regardless of tradition and regardless of religion. No Church, no Tradition and no Religion EVER saved anyone. Never has, never will. Jesus tells us in John 14:6 “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.“

Proverbs 14:12 has brought conviction upon my soul tonight, and I want to share with you my heart if you will allow me. My name is Chad Lovejoy and I am the Lead Pastor at Victory Baptist Church in Cross Lanes, WV. In many ways it appears that the wind of God’s mercy is at our back and we are heading into another wonderful season of blessings in which we are not worthy to receive. Our father has shed His abundant grace upon us over the past 15 months that I have been here and it is all to Him we owe. I recently preached a sermon on the basis that, it is often better for us to share our weaknesses with each other rather than sharing our strengths. I want it to be clear that no person has come up to me with any concern or complaint in regards to what I am being convicted of here tonight. This conviction is coming straight from the Lord Himself and He has led me to the aforementioned verse Proverbs 14:12 which reads, “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”

In the convicting work of The Lord initially I find fear, disappointment, regret, ineptitude, and so on, but following the initial sting that pierced my heart, I find joy. For I know that in His correction, He shows me love. In His strong hand, He shows me that I am His child. In His rebuke I find humility. Gratefully, He has once again showed me that I can do nothing with out Him and His peace over comes me as I repent and beg for restoration that I do not deserve, but as His child I know that He will grant it to me. Thank You Jesus, I love you.

Psalms 31:19 Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men!

Let the Truth Be Known…
Church, we need to be empowered by the Holy Spirit! We need to stop talking about it and be unleashed for God! There are glaring issues that I see as the pastor of our church that are keeping us from facilitating spiritual growth and change; therefore we are missing the mark in the vision laid out in Ephesians 4:11-16. If these issues are not addressed then I am at fault. It is up to me as a servant leader to facilitate spiritual growth and change by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Specifically, I find the decline in attendance on Wednesday and Sunday evening services to be disturbing. Initially, we saw a great increase in attendance for all services and it was very encouraging for me personally to see such dedication to The Word of God that there was not much difference between the number of people that attended Sunday mornings and Wed./Sun. night services. We most definitely were not like most churches in that it is very “typical” for Sunday morning services to be the most attended service for the week. In my optimism, I was blind to the suggestions of other preachers and pastors around the area that told me that it wouldn’t last. “This is only temporary” they would say, and “once the novelty of having a new pastor wears thin on the people, they too will begin to stay at home for the evening services.” I took offense and refuted such suggestions and boldly proclaimed that “we are not like other churches!” ‘We are not typical at Victory Baptist Church!” A few months later, now that the “Honeymoon” period is over, I find myself wondering, “what happened?”

What Happened?

Was everyone right? Are we not different? Have we become typical? Have the people already grown tired of me? Have the people already become bored or annoyed by how I teach and preach God’s Word?

Is this “Honeymoon” period phenom for real? I’ve been praying. I’ve been studying. I’ve been dedicated. I’ve been faithful. What happened?… “I” happened… “I” have failed… In the midst of being dedicated to The Word, studying The Scriptures and praying for wisdom, I have failed miserably to be an effective facilitator. I was so caught up in preparing the teaching and preaching for these evening services that I lost my regard for the practical needs of those that we coming so faithfully to participate in the services. As I faithfully proclaimed The Word every night, I foolishly lost sight of the fact that the house of God must be a place for everyone to be focused and alert in order to receive what was being said from the pulpit.

A Bad Host for the Lord of Hosts…

As the pastor of VBC I have failed to be a good host to our people. I have failed to provide adequate classrooms that facilitate spiritual growth for those that are 18 and under. Fact is, if I go to church and there is nothing for me, I am not going. That is why the 18 and under crowd has stopped coming to our church on Sunday/Wed. night. Looking back I find it arrogant of me to think that “my way” of teaching and preaching God’s Word was engaging to all ages. It is as if I believed that “my way” of breaking down Scripture is interesting to everyone, no matter their age or intellect. In my ignorance, it seems that I placed so much faith in “my delivery” as a messenger of God that I took on the attitude of “If they can’t understand my teaching of the Bible then they ‘must not be interested in learning.”‘ That is not good shepherding. In doing so, I have neglected their spiritual well-being and there is a possibility that some of these young people will give up on church or even worse, give up on God. Oh how I pray that God will not let that happen!

These Young People Have Parents…

It stands to reason that if there is nothing there for the young people, they will not want to come. If they do come, they are either pushed to the back and into the nursery with toddlers or they stay up front huffing and puffing mad, because their parents won’t let them play with their cell phones during service. What kind of shepherd am I to be so careless with God’s flock? Babies and toddlers belong in the nursery, everyone else belongs in an environment that they can grow in the Lord, period. This is my responsibility and I have erred tremendously up to this point in making the appropriate accommodations for each and every soul that comes through our doors. My indifference to do so causes the parent(s) who really do/does want to come and learn more about our Heavenly Father to regret even coming to church at all! They aren’t being edified because they are too busy trying to entertain their own children. They could have stayed home and done that, which essentially is exactly what these parents are doing. All of our actions have consequences and the truth is, I have made it awfully easy for many people to stay at home during the Wednesday and Sunday night services.

Oh Wretched Son of Adam…

I have failed. In my blindness I have become careless with the flock in which God Almighty has entrusted me. My carelessness is a sin before Him and I pray that He will forgive me and show me mercy for my errors. I also pray that He will be gracious enough to move upon the hearts of those that I have caused to stumble so that they may forgive me and give me another opportunity to pastor them and reward them for their faithful attendance with edification from above, at every single service.

She was dragged out of God’s wrath and into safety by the Lord’s angels, yet she looked back to where her heart truly was and she paid for it with her life. I am very thankful that the Lord has revealed to me at an early stage in the ministry where I am lacking as a shepherd. He has chastized me for being a bad facilitator. I know that I will fail Him many more times in the years to come if He allows me to continue to breathe, but I will take heed to the words of Jesus and not look back to the place that He has dragged me out of. (I know I shouldn’t end this sentence with the prepositional noun “of”- don’t judge me haha!) I can not change what has happened up to this point in the ministry but I acknowledge my error before you and the Face of God. The leadership of the church will be having a meeting on Sunday morning and from this day forward, VBC will be committed to providing every one with an environment to learn more about Christ at each service, regardless of age or intellect. Moving forward at Godspeed I ask you to join us, for Jesus tells us, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:62)